When many people go to college, especially younger ones, one of the many decisions that they must make is whether they want to live on campus or not. For some, this isn’t a hard decision, but for others this can be difficult.

Basically, there are two types of students, those who live on campus and those who commute.

Generally, commuters are people who don’t like the idea of living in a dormitory or they have other responsibilities such as families or jobs.

People may be surprised at how far some students actually travel each week to go to school. With high gas prices, some students think this is a problem, but some have no choice.

One of the main reasons that students decide to commute is the price of living in a residence hall. According to MUW, the minimum cost of living in a residence hall is $1,545. Many commuters believe that traveling will overall be a cheaper option.

“I live close enough that it would be just as cheap and easy to commute as it would to have a dorm or apartment,” said Courtney Schrock, an accounting major from Greenwood Springs, Miss.

Another reason is obligations. Some students either have a family to take care of or they have a job that makes it complicated to live on-campus. Of course, there are many on-campus students who have other obligations such as jobs, but usually they are not too far from campus. Commuters may have a job that is in their hometown.

“I commute because I have a daughter, and kids are not allowed in the dorms,” said Taelor Proctor, a communication major from Columbus, Miss.

There are both advantages and disadvantages of commuting. Many commuters don’t have the ability to travel to school for anything other than school.

Enrollment records show that most of the time universities enroll more commuters than dorm students. It just goes to show that commuters are the force that keeps the educational ball rolling.